It's ok to ask what brand it is, right? Since I'm pretty heavy I would need a pretty strong one, and I figured they would always take up a lot of space (we finally threw out the old one...took up a lot space, not that used, and SO noisy).

PWS, ours is called a Horizon Fitness Elite 4.0T. We've had it over 3 years and run on it almost every day and it still works great. (Well, the husband runs on it; I do a brisk walk, kind of limping jog...) My husband is 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds and it holds his weight just fine. We got ours at a fitness store (I think Chicago Fitness) that only sells exercise equipment so all the sales reps were pretty knowledgeable. Before you buy one, I would suggest you ask them to let you jog on theirs for a few minutes to see if you think it's too noisy or not. Also, have the sales person show you how to fold the treadmill so that it's standing upright so you can see if you think it's easy to do AND to see if it's small enough for your room. This one is like the kind they have at health clubs so I don't think weight would be an issue. My friend has a really nice treadmill and elliptical machine--it's made by Precor and she's had great luck with it (and she's kind of a big gal).

While I'm getting advice...I've never used an elliptical machine, I think they came along after my last gym membership phase...are they as noisy on average as treadmills?
Re your 180 lb. husband... when I say "large" I mean large...I could qualify for The Biggest Loser, so need that strong a machine! I know they make them... they've got those 300 and 400 pound people pounding away on them, but the ones I've seen online seem to have an upper limit a lot lower than that!
Good idea to go to a fitness store instead of just Sears! Thanks!

The eliptical machines I've used are quite, as long as you don't try to set a speed record. When I first started using one I could only go 5 minutes at a hight speed. Now I always do at least 20 minutes at a moderate pace that doesn't startle me or cause me to need my inhaler. The ones at my gym are from LifeFitness and Precor.

Wow, you're better than me! I get bored after half an hour! Muduh, mine's pretty big (health club size) but it folds up pretty easily so you can put it in the corner. It still uses up room, but it take up less space when it's tucked away. Would something like that work for one of your rooms?

As long as I can watch tv I'm okay. I used to walk seven miles a day with my walkman but can't hear it any more, plus, I don't walk alone any more.

The problem here is that we can't agree on what equipment to get. He wants a bowflex, which I wouldn't use and I want a treadmill which we would both use but he says that isn't enough exercise. He needs something to build muscle. We don't have a place for a complete gym of our own here. We've talked of adding a sunroom and that would be ideal. Maybe I need to mention that again.

My daughter has a nice home gym but she lives across town which takes over an hour to reach from here. She has a rowing machine that I'd really like.

PWS, I think the literature that came with our treadmill said it can hold up to 1,000 pounds or something like that, which I don't think you're anywhere near! I used to have a really small one (from Sears--nothing wrong with Sears...my parents got one there that still works great for them--I just got one that was too cheap and flimsy) that could barely handle my weight (at the time I only weighed about 120 pounds!) when I would start to run on it. It would creak and buckle under the pressure. It was really cheap and ended up being thrown out 'cause I never used it. So before we bought this one, both the husband and I tested it out at the store to make sure we liked it.

Wow, 1000 lbs! Who on earth is still mobile and weighs 1000 pounds!?! OK, that sounds safe even for me! And I'm more a walker, at least at this point, than a runner, so won't be stressing it all that much. Thanks so much everyone for all the advice.

One of my friends recently got a treadmill. She said she used it the first day and that was the longest five minutes of her life. She's up to thirty minutes, twice a day now. She is morbidly obese and I'm very proud of her for making the decision to take better care of herself.